So, here’s my problem, people.
On the one hand, I am a die-hard Transformers fan. I watch the original movie multiple times a year, I’ve imported Japanese Transformers games, and I even tolerate the newer Transformers movies because they have Peter Cullen doing what he does best.
On the other hand, Activision is exploiting every Transformer fanboy’s wet dream by demanding a pre-order in exchange for playing the upcoming Transformers: Fall of Cybertron as the original G1 model of Optimus Prime.
It’s deliberate and exploitative, sure, but really, should we care? Sure, it’ll force people to buy the game afresh instead of renting or purchasing it used, but as a business, Activision is pretty much within their rights to do so. They are essentially allowing the makers of the game to offer players the opportunity of bucking canon purely for the ability to look like the original character we know and love. It doesn’t make sense, narratively speaking, but should Optimus Prime fans truly care?
I, for one, refuse to get hung up on the principles of ‘how dare they hold this over our heads’ or ‘I can’t suspend disbelief enough to ignore a fan-service costume change in my video game featuring interstellar robots in a planet-destroying civil war’. I am going to pre-order this, buy it, play it day one, and squee like a girl when Optimus gives the order.
The order to transform and roll out, not the order to squee like a girl. He doesn’t give that order ever.
